When you can use a certificate

Your pet must arrive in an EU country within 10 days of the certificate being issued. It’s valid for 4 months for further travel within the EU.

You should get the person who checks your pet when you arrive in the EU to sign and stamp the certificate.

When you can use a pet passport

You don’t need a third-country official veterinary certificate if your pet was issued with a pet passport before leaving the EU and the treatments are still valid. Any booster vaccinations or blood tests carried out from outside the EU must be recorded on a third-country official veterinary certificate.

Exchanging the certificate for a pet passport

You can exchange the certificate for an EU pet passport if:

it expires while your pet is in the EU

your pet needs a rabies booster vaccination while it’s in the EU

you want to keep travelling within the EU after the certificate has expired

You’ll have to show the vet:

the certificate

your pet’s identity and vaccination record

the blood test results (if needed)

Cats from Australia

To bring a cat into the UK from Australia, you must have a certificate from the Australian Department of Agriculture confirming your cat hasn’t been exposed to the Hendra virus in the 60 days before you left.

Dogs and cats from Peninsular Malaysia

You must have a certificate from the Malaysian government veterinary health services to bring your dog or cat into the UK from Peninsular Malaysia. The certificate must show your pet:

hasn’t had contact with pigs in the 60 days before you left

hasn’t been on a holding where Nipah disease has been found in the 60 days before you left

has a negative blood test result for Nipah virus antibody - the test must be carried out by a laboratory approved for Nipah virus on a blood sample taken no more than 10 days before you leave